Loose Feathers #521

American Coots / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A researcher who spends summers in the Arctic predicts low numbers of irrupting Snowy Owls this winter since the number of nests was low this summer.
• Atlas Obscura spent the week talking about birds, including articles on the intelligence of crows and the impressive vocal range of lyrebirds.
• Piping Plovers in the Great Plains region are losing habitat due to wetland drainage and climate change.
• In somewhat better news, New Jersey's Piping Plover population has rebounded from a poor breeding season in 2014.
• Scientists have found a new diving bird from Cretaceous North America.
• Anna's Hummingbirds outmaneuver rivals with muscle capacity rather than body mass or wing morphology. 
• Natural wetlands are better for egrets than artificial ones like flooded rice fields.
• Some animals (including some birds) have adapted well to cities.
• Adélie Penguin numbers may increase in East Antarctica as breeding sites are exposed by melting glaciers.
• Meanwhile, Yellow-eyed Penguin numbers have declined due to a combination of factors.
• A recent study compared different methods of collecting data on bird-window collisions.
• South African birds are more vulnerable to climate-induced changes to fire and rainfall patterns than higher temperatures.

Science and nature blogging

• Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds.: The Most Overrated Bird
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Death’s Head Hawk Moth – pupa development
• The Prairie Ecologist: The Much Maligned Coyote  
• 10,000 Birds: Where Do You Point Beginners?

Environment and biodiversity

• An ecologist (@leafwarbler) reflects on what it means to witness a great extinction in progress.
• It will not come as a surprise that senators who oppose the EPA's new emissions regulations are well-funded by the coal industry.
• An entomologist tried to develop a faster way to revise a moth genus and describe new species. (journal link) 
• Most groundwater is not renewed within the course of a human lifetime.
• Volunteers are needed for a tree and shrub planting project at Mannington Meadows in Salem County, New Jersey.
• Congress will vote on a bill (with bipartisan support) to ban microbeads from hygiene products. 
• The EPA has proposed tighter restrictions on downwind air pollution.
• The US and Cuba have agreed to cooperate on marine conservation.

Loose Feathers #520

Northern Harrier / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Canada's boreal forest is vital as the breeding ground for many North American bird species.
• Images from banding stations may look disturbing, but all show birds that were safely released.
• Mated pairs of Great Tits will stay together during the winter even if it means sacrificing better food resources.
• Pakistan asks Supreme Court to overturn its ban on hunting rare Houbara Bustards.
• A genetic analysis shows that there is potential for future splits of Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl based on divergence between populations in the Americas and elsewhere. (Journal article here.)

Science and nature blogging

• 10,000 Birds: What Impact Will Drones Have on Birds?
• Meadowlands Nature Blog: The Mighty "Magic" Oak Tree
• RealClimate: So what is really happening in Antarctica?
• Anything Larus: More Thayer's & Lessers 
• Birding on Broadmeade: Poison Ivy 

Environment and biodiversity

• For those who missed the news last Friday: the Obama administration decided to block the Keystone XL pipeline. 
• The fight against Keystone XL began with local activists and eventually brought together an unusual national coalition.
• It has been widely reported that SeaWorld is phasing out orca shows, but that is not the case.
• A recent study found that dispersants used during BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill may have made the problem worse by killing bacteria that eat oil.
• Little Brown Bats in New Jersey continue to be decimated by white-nose syndrome.
• NPR has a look at continuing deforestation in Brazil. 
• A massive glacier in northeastern Greenland started melting more rapidly in the past three years. The glacier holds enough ice to raise sea levels by 18 inches.
• The new Canadian government is lifting restrictions placed on government scientists by the previous government.
• A former golf course in Gloucester County will become a state preserve.

Loose Feathers #519

Fox Sparrow / Photo by Alex Galt/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Gulls will often steal shellfish from diving ducks to take advantage of food sources they are not able to reach themselves. 
• Many bird populations have still not recovered from West Nile Virus.
• Female and male Black-capped Chickadees produce different vocalizations and can tell the vocalizations apart.
• Exposure to heavy metals reduces the plumage color of Great Tits.
• Shape of bird wings depends on evolutionary ancestry more than flight style.
• Competition for nesting cavities may threaten the endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote of Tasmania.
• A variety of berries, many toxic or unpalatable to humans, await migrating birds in the fall.
• In some bird species, song develops independently of sex differences in the brain.
• A study of Red-eyed Vireos, Swainson's Thrushes, and Wood Thrushes examines migration behavior around Gulf of Mexico.
• Juvenile cowbirds sneak out of the host nest at night to avoid imprinting on foster parents.
• A big day attempt in Washington, DC, last May recorded over 100 species.

Science and nature blogging

• Shorebirder: Rarity-friendly weather
• ABA Blog: How should we pronounce Trindade? 
• Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding: BIRDS OF A FEATHER 
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Parasitic fly emerged from cocoon of footman moth
• The Freiday Bird Blog: Blue Jays: the best part of birding begins AFTER you have identified the bird
• Mark Avery: Globally threatened vultures
• spiderbytes: Myrmecophilic spiders 
• Earbirding: Black and Pigeon Guillemots 
• Maniraptora: Why do Songbirds Sing in the Autumn?

Environment and biodiversity

• Most eastern coyotes are actually coywolves, a hybrid of coyote and wolf ancestry (with some domestic dog mixed in). Coywolves are more willing than coyotes to explore forests and take on large prey and more willing than wolves to live close to humans.
• A dam holding tailings from a mining operation burst in Brazil and swamped a small city downstream.
• New York is investigating whether Exxon Mobil violated any laws while denying climate change.
• Mountain lions may be slowly recolonizing eastern portions of their former range.
• New York State is preparing for up to six feet of sea level rise.
• Small differences in wing structure make female Monarchs more efficient at flying than males.
• The Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey was expanded by 29 acres.
• Managed bees (like honey bees) spread disease among wild bees.

Loose Feathers #518

Common Raven / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• At least six species of vultures in Africa have seen their conservation status worsen in the past year.
• Several other European species, including the Atlantic Puffin and European Turtle Dove, have also been added to the IUCN Red List due to long-term declines.
• A new bird fossil supports rapid diversification after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
• Vaux's Swifts that migrate together tend to winter together in the same area.
• The ranges of Hawaii's rarest birds may shrink due to climate change.
• Many penguins are threatened by climate change, including King Penguins. 
• Snowy Owls are moving south early this year, but so far it is unclear how large the movement will be.
• Study of Whooping Cranes shows captive-raised birds adapt better to new environments.
• Noah Strycker saw his 5000th bird of the year this week, a Flame-crowned Flowerpecker.
• A new study emphasized the importance of marine animals, including seabirds, for recycling the Earth's nutrients.
• Siberian Jays can recognize unfamiliar relatives.
• Researchers found 19,000 birds, some endangered, for sale in Jakarta's markets.
• A vagrant Hooded Warbler has spent the past few weeks in Calgary.
• XKCD goes birding with launch control.

Science and nature blogging

• Laura's Birding Blog: Snowy Owl Migration: More complicated than most people realize
• Extinction Countdown: Clouded Leopards Threatened by Sudden Increase in Poaching and Live Trade
• WolfeNotes: The Forgotten Florio Environmental Legacy  
• Inkfish: Finding the Highways for Migrating Birds
• Trans-Iberian: Return of the Bone Breaker: A 19th century British naturalist’s lasting legacy on one of Spain’s rarest birds
• Warblers and rumors of warblers: A sight for Sora eyes 

Environment and biodiversity

• As Greenland melts, ongoing research into its pace and causes is threatened by Congress. 
• A tributary to Jamaica Bay is being cleaned up and will eventually become a city park.
• It seems likely that Mexican Wolves will become extinct in the wild because of New Mexico's opposition to a reintroduction program.
• New Jersey will create a new wetland area in Liberty State Park.

Loose Feathers #517

Wild Turkey / Photo by Alex Galt/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A Bell's Vireo has spent the past two weeks at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.
• A study of shorebirds found that longer migration flights require longer stopovers for resting and refueling.
• Migratory birds can spend less time flying if they optimize for wind support rather than the shortest distance.
• Young Bald Eagles find the easy meals at landfills appealing but visit landfills less often as they become more adept at hunting.
• A shorebird fossil from New Zealand supports the link between Australian and South American shorebirds.
• A study using data from geolocators, satellite transmissions and bird banding has uncovered the migration routes of endangered European Rollers.
• Data collected by European birdwatchers suggests ways birds might respond to climate change.
• A study examined the genetic basis for the strong immune and digestive systems that vulture need for scavenging.

Science and nature blogging

• The Birdist: A Crudely Drawn Guide to Birding at DC's Rock Creek Park 
• Net Results: Introducing Craves’s Giant Barn Owl! 
• Not Exactly Rocket Science: Busting Myths About Penguin Feathers
• Charismatic Minifauna: These Lovely Birds Do More Than Sing—They Sleep Around 
• Meadowlands Nature Blog: Don Torino's Life in the Meadowlands: The American Kestrel, a Species in Decline
• 10,000 Birds: Heermann’s Gull: Near Threatened
• BugBlog: Salticidae: Jumping spiders 
• Stokes Birding Blog: Lincoln's Sparrow, Migrating Now, Look for Them! 

Environment and biodiversity

• It is unclear how much Canada's environmental policies will improve in the wake of Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party's loss in this week's elections.
• A new species of Galápagos tortoise has been identified.
• A ruling sending the planned LG building back to the zoning board for reconsideration offers the opportunity to consider stronger protections for the cliffs. (via)
• This week New York City planted the millionth tree in its Million Trees NYC campaign.
• A plan to limit off-road vehicle use in Wharton State Forest in the New Jersey Pinelands has run into strong opposition.
• Alaskan boreal forest fires release more carbon than the trees can absorb.